Fighting the Pandemic One Innovation at a Time

Innovation never takes a day off at 3M. While we manufacture and deliver more respirators to protect the safety of our employees, healthcare workers and first responders, and the public, we also are finding new ways to help society fight and win against COVID-19.

Last week, we announced a collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology on a rapid COVID-19 diagnostic test – a critical element in helping prevent spread of the virus. The project has received approval from the National Institutes of Health, with the goal of developing a low-cost, highly accurate device that can be mass-produced.

The hallmark of 3M is relentless innovation and applying science to life. We still have a ways to go before we have a test available, but we do not stop pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, because we know families and friends are counting on us to succeed. Every day, we’ve been put to the test, and every day, 3Mers around the world step up to do more, think more, and solve more challenges.

And that’s more important than ever before because the stark reality is that respirator demand continues to far outpace the entire industries’ supply. 3M is making and distributing more respirators than ever before, and we continue to do our part and prioritize supplies to our heroic healthcare workers and first responders. In the first half of the year, 3M manufactured 800 million respirators globally, and approximately half were distributed in the U.S., primarily to healthcare and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). We continue to make investments, and partner with the U.S. and other governments, to bring additional capacity online. For the full year, we expect to produce 2 billion respirators globally.

Our COVID-19 website includes more details on every facet of our evolving response. I am incredibly proud of our people, and we’ll continue to do all we can to help get the world through this crisis – one innovation at a time.